


One Night

by inalasahl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: dc_everafter, Fairy Tales, Pre-Slash, the buried moon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-10
Updated: 2011-04-10
Packaged: 2017-10-18 22:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/193829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inalasahl/pseuds/inalasahl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Lucifer won the first war and the other angels came to Earth and set up a society. Castiel ventures out into the human city, meets a human by the name of Dean Winchester, and learns that he hasn't been taught the precise truth about humanity's worth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Night

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much to skripka for the on-the-fly beta. Written for the [dc_everafter](http://www.livejournal.com/users/dc_everafter) challenge. Loosely based on the fairy tale, [The Buried Moon.](http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/moreenglish/buriedmoon.html)

The briefing was troublesome and dull. Shadowfolk, _monsters,_ had been sighted in the western continent. No one knew if they were growing more numerous and thus, bolder, or simply spreading out. Either way there seemed to be more of them every year, and until Lucifer's portal from Heaven could be found, killing these footsoldiers of his here and there would be no more than attrition. There were rumors that the newest ones could even survive the sight of angel light and had to be physically touched to be banished. But there had also been suspicious activity in the south and for now that was the priority. At long last, their brother may have slipped up, revealing the location of the portal where he sent these monsters through to Earth.

"Lucifer is smarter than that," he heard Uriel mutter next to him. Castiel cast him a quelling look. His brother's comment could easily be interpreted as questioning Raphael's decision to concentrate on the south. If his brother were overheard, it would not go well for him. He might even be "adjusted." Castiel realized his attention was wandering and hastily brought it back to focus ... on the meeting that was breaking up. More and more he seemed to have difficulty caring about anything. His life had not changed for a millennia, and Castiel was beginning to think it would go on like this for a millennia more.

He rose from his chair as quickly as possible without looking out of step. "Castiel," Zachariah said. "Please wait a moment." Uriel flashed him a look of apology as he disappeared out the door. Castiel kept breathing steadily as he made his way to the front of the room. If Zachariah had noticed his inattention, there was nothing to be done about it now.

"Yes?" Castiel said.

Zachariah smiled, a human expression that made Castiel uncomfortable. Zachariah reported directly to Raphael, Michael's second-in-command. He was no fledgling, experimenting with humanity before embracing dispassion and obedience. "I've heard good things about you, Castiel."

"I have done my duty to the best of my ability," Castiel replied.

"Yes, you have!" Zachariah said, his smile growing larger. "Tell me, Castiel, what do you think of the Hierarchy?"

A test, then. It had been many centuries since Castiel had been tested, but the correct answers came easily to his tongue. "The Hierarchy is necessary to keep order among our people. Our father himself designed it."

"But how do you know? You've never seen our father, never heard his voice." Even knowing he was being tested, Castiel felt a stirring of discomfort to hear such heresy spoken openly.

"I do not need to see our father to hear his voice. My garrison leader gives me his orders, and I believe. She gets them from her superior, and she believes. And so on and so forth, in an unbroken chain back to our father."

"But what if someone in that chain were to lie?"

"I don't understand."

"Castiel, are you obedient to the Hierarchy?"

"Of course."

"You will follow your orders, even if you do not understand them. Even if it means betraying the secrets of your closest brothers and sisters?"

"I obey my father," Castiel said.

"What I am about to tell you may be spoken of to no one. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"There is a spy in our midst," Zachariah said. "In this very garrison, in fact. You heard of the deaths last month in the United States?" Castiel nodded. It had been a sad tiding. He had lost a beloved sister. "They were ambushed," Zachariah said. "Deliberately attacked. Someone is betraying our location to the so-called shadowfolk."

"Who would do such—"

"That is what we must find out," Zachariah said. "There are several possibilities. Trusted angels are being assigned to investigate each one. That's why I wanted to speak to you. A member of your garrison has been spotted sneaking out in the evenings to visit the human cities. We'd like you to follow her. Find out where she is going and to whom she is speaking."

Castiel nodded. "Who am I to follow?" he asked.

"Your garrison leader." Castiel stared in shock at Zachariah. "Anael."

* * *

As Castiel left the compound behind Anael, as safe a distance as possible, he noticed Uriel slipping away, too. He wondered who his brother had been charged with following and hoped Uriel would be the successful one. It seemed impossible to him that Anael was the traitor. There were no guards to prevent anyone from leaving. The way was not barred. It had simply been custom, for as long as the angels had been on Earth that they did not go out among the humans after dark.

Castiel felt a flare of curiosity as he watched her draw back her cloak and let loose her wings in preparation for flying. She was going a distance then. It was not difficult for one angel to follow another, but it was very hard to do it without being noticed. Having one's wings out made it especially difficult. They flared bright with a light that could not be masked when uncovered. Castiel could only hope that Anael would not pause or turn around.

She came to rest in the state of Nebraska and walked among the humans, who were still bustling about the city, despite the night. He lost her finally in a crowd of humans, and found himself seeing a world he had never know existed. For all around him, the people were laughing or cursing, just generally being loud and free. He had never known, he thought. He had never known that people were different when they did not know angels were about. He drew his cloak tight around him, hiding his angel light as best he could, and set out to see what it was that drew Anael out here among them in contraversion of every custom of angels.

He startled to a hand at his back. He turned and was chagrined to see Anael there, an almost human look of disgust on her face. "You were following me," she said.

Castiel decided to stick to as much truth as he could. "I ... I saw you leave the compound," he said. "I wondered where you were going." His wings twitched beneath his cloak, and she frowned at the movement. Looking at her, one would never even know she had wings. Castiel wondered just how long she had been sneaking out, that she had become so capable of tucking them tightly in without even a slight bulge to give her away.

Anael heaved a sigh and came to some decision. "It might be good," she said finally. "For you to see. Stick close and don't let anyone know who you are."

"Where are we going?"

"The human world is full of wonders, Castiel, but you have to spend time in it to experience them. I got a job," she said. "Soon I'll have enough human currency to leave altogether and disappear into this world."

"What?!" Many of his brothers and sisters had fallen prey to the enticements of the human world when the angels had first fled there, but the angels had quickly learned to monitor those who had close contact with humans. Anael was not even one who had contact with the humans. She was a soldier! He could not believe his sister was serious. To leave the compound was to be banished for life.

"We hold ourselves like gods over them," she said. "We were never meant to do so. This is their planet, and we are refugees under their sufferance."

"But if you leave, you can never return."

"It's worth it, Castiel. To feel, to taste. It can all be so much better."

They made their way to a public house. "Sit here," she told him, pointing to a stool at the end of the bar. "Behave yourself." She moved behind the counter.

The woman currently behind the counter raised an eyebrow. "Friend of yours, Anna?" she said, too low for the rest of the bar to hear.

"I'm so sorry, Ellen."

"It's okay. You get to work. I'll keep an eye on him." The woman held out a hand to Castiel. He stuck out his hand in imitation, and she took it, shaking it. "I'm Ellen."

"Cas" he paused. He wasn't sure he should give Ellen his real name, and he didn't actually know any human ones.

Ellen smirked and Castiel realized she knew just what he was, just what Anael— no Anna— was, for all that she seemed to be pretending to be a human bartender. "Better just leave it at Cas," she said. She slid a drink over to him. "Won't do much for you, but you'd be even more conspicuous without it."

Castiel swiveled on his stool looking around the room. There were several tables of people talking and laughing, and a couple of quieter ones hunched over some old books. In the corner, he saw two men playing a game he had never seen before, poking long sticks at balls laid out on a table. They were both tall for humans. One was quieter, concentrating on the game. The other one was wearing a jacket of animal hide and was louder, laughing frequently, though he seemed to be losing. He even paused once before a shot and winked at Castiel. When the game ended, he walked up to Castiel. "Hey," he said. "I saw you staring earlier. Like what you see?" He motioned to Anael for a drink. "Dean," he said, holding his hand out in the same gesture Ellen had used earlier. Castiel took it and shook it as she had.

"I didn't see enough to make a decision," he said. The game looked pretty simple really, a matter of angles, no different than figuring out a flight path. But he supposed that having to use the long sticks instead of one's wings made it more of a challenge. The man quirked an eyebrow. Castiel took a sip of his drink; it tickled his nose.

"You're not easy," he said. "Consider the message received." Castiel wondered what message the man was talking about.

Anael brought the drink over, and Castiel could tell she found something amusing. "Go easy on him, Dean," she said. "He's my younger brother."

"Oh," Dean said. "Anna's told me she comes from a pretty religious family. Though how any can believe in that stuff after seeing what angels are really like—" he stopped. "No offense, Anna," he said.

"None taken," she responded. She looked searchingly at Castiel. "Some of us just need a push," she said. "To open our eyes."

It was true that humans weren't anything like Castiel had been taught. They were not like animals or little better than nestlings. They seemed almost angelic, except for the animation of their conversations. Dean, himself, was fascinating as he talked to Castiel about his baby, who was not a nestling, but some sort of transportation device.

Eventually, the crowd became smaller and smaller, and the man Dean had been playing the game with earlier came over. "Call came in," he said. "Guy attacked down by the river, coming out of Olson's Pharmacy," he said.

"All right, Sammy," Dean said. He stood and smiled at Catiel. "I guess this is good night then."

"Where are you going?"

Dean looked startled. "Forgot you were new in town for a second," he said. "Seems like I've known you forever." It did not seem like forever to Castiel, but certainly many years. He felt a familiarity with the human that he rarely experienced even with members of his own garrison. "Sam and I, we're hunters." Hunters were humans who fought against Lucifer's creations, though the angels tried to discourage it, as it was dangerous work. Too dangerous for fragile humans.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Castiel asked. "Perhaps you should simply inform your local angelic council of the problem."

"Yeah, right," Dean said. "Like that's ever mattered in the past."

"But—"

"We're on the schedule for tomorrow," Sam said. "To ask for night patrols, but Dean's not wrong. The angels can be a little slow to react. And somebody's got to look after people."

"Anyway the angels shouldn't need us to tell them not to be dicks," Dean said. "They could have taken an interest years ago." To his surprise, Castiel found himself mentally agreeing with him. He could have come out to see the human populated areas long before this. Angels had no need for rest, and there were long periods of time in between battles. "You still going to be in town tomorrow night?" Dean said. "I'd like to get to know you a little better."

"I would enjoy that," Castiel said. "I do not know if I, if I will be allowed to return, but I would like to." He tried to smile as the humans did, but he was not sure how successful he was as Dean looked confused and Ellen laughed. "Good," Dean said and walked out the door with the other man.

Castiel caught Anael's eye, and she came over to him. "I am going to—"

A watchful wariness that she'd carried all evening dropped away. "I've heard it could happen that fast," she said. "But I didn't believe it." Her voice was almost wistful as she continued. "Go, keep him safe," she said. "You and I can talk tomorrow."

* * *

Castiel's hearing was better than a human's also, and with the night so still it was only moments after stepping outside that he picked up Dean and Sam's footfalls and began to follow after them. He dared not release his wings. It was so late no one was left on the streets. The light would be too obvious, but it wasn't necessary. He could still walk faster than a human, even though his body was smaller, shorter.

When he finally caught sight of them in an abandoned section of the town, full of empty, crumbling buildings, he was surprised to see there was not one monster, but four. Dean and Sam were heavily engaged. Castiel was impressed to see that they were only slightly outmatched, but slightly was enough. He watched in horror as one of the creatures raked a sharp claw against Dean's back, causing the man to scream in pain. Castiel didn't care then about his cover or that Dean would probably not want to speak to him again, given his animosity toward angels. He cared only for keeping the man safe. He unclasped his cloak and let his wings burst out, spilling light out that could be seen for a mile. He watched in satisfaction as the monsters drew back, crying out in pain. Dean and Sam shut their eyes, as well. "Come on," one of them yelled, as they groped for each other. "We need reinforcements." He watched them take off, and Castiel fully intended that all of the shadow folk would be dead before they returned.

But when he turned back to the monsters, he was in for a nasty surprise. They weren't cowering before the light of his wings, breaking out in boils and burns, on the verge of vaporizing. They were straightening up, adjusting to the pain of his light. The rumors that his brother had found a way to strengthen his creatures, requiring touch to banish them, were true. No matter, he thought, and reached out his hand.

"Don't let it touch you," he heard of the creatures hiss. It began to speak in Enochian, a spell it should not have known, unless his brother had taken leave of all sense. The building next to him began to sway. Too late, Castiel realized the danger he was in and before he could take flight, it crashed down upon him, burying him in a ton of rubble, pinning his wings.

* * *

It was dark under the rubble and cold. Castiel did not fear for his life. It would take much more to kill an angel than a ton of brick and rock and steel, but no one knew where he was and he feared he would lay there, trapped, until the end of all time.

* * *

But it was only a couple of days until Dean came for him. "Cas!" he heard the human yell. "Cas! Are you in there?"

"Dean?" Cas's voice was weak. Too much rock lay upon him to properly speak. "Dean?"

"Hang on if you're in there," he heard. "We're going to get you out."

* * *

"How?" Castiel said.

"When you disappeared Anna became frantic. She came to Sam and I, but we couldn't understand why you'd be following us. Then she told us what you were, and I remembered the light." Dean looked at Castiel's wings, broken and crushed. Castiel did not know how long it would take them to heal, and he suspected they might be damaged always. "Are you really an angel?"

"Yes," Castiel said. "If this means you would not like to continue our talk ..."

Dean shook his head. "I didn't know if I'd find you," Dean said. "I thought maybe I wouldn't see you again. I mean, I still think angels are dicks, but Anna's different. I'd like to find out if you are, too."

Castiel thought of something he had seen the humans do when they were feeling affectionate. He drew Dean down to him, cradling his face between his hands and pressed their lips together. The hunter gasped and pulled him closer, Dean's hands gripping tightly to Castiel's shoulders. He felt a jolt of pleasure as their tongues met.

He wondered if Anael could teach him how to get a job.

The End

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [No Rest for the Wicked (The Coffin, Candle, and Cross Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/379828) by [elementalv](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elementalv/pseuds/elementalv)




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